Build it and they will come

We’re big fans of the new Sustrans bike track that’s slowly taking shape between Glencoe and Oban. If you’ve been paying attention then you’ll have seen the odd mention here on the blog. It’s idyllic. Particularly the bit between Glenachulish and the Holly Tree, where the traffic free smooth tarmac skirts the water’s edge and brings you out at a place where you can buy beer and crisps. What more can a cyclist ask for!

Its much the same in Annecy really. Watch the Tour de France this week and you’ll see a load of cyclists whizzing round this French lake in one of the closing stages of the famous bike race. But they’re missing the best bets. They really should take more time over it and enjoy the lakeside cycle track.
In many ways the Lake Annecy track is simply the M25 version of the Oban one. Built on an old railway, and often skirting the idyllic waters edge with a mountain backdrop. But the traffic can get a bit nose-to-tail at times (watch out for those in line skaters!) and, of course, its at least 10 degrees warmer.


If anything, it just goes to show that when you provide the facility, it’s not long before people come and use it. Lake Annecy might have the most famous bike race out there to whet folks appetite, and some rather pleasant weather too, but you’ve got to believe that when the connecting sections of the Sustrans route are completed, cyclists will flock to it in significant numbers.